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Tough times for illegal Eritrean migrants on their way to Europe

Eritrean migrants go through tough times in their quest to seek better working conditions in Europe.

The case of Selam, a female Eritrean seeking better conditions who was raped, imprisoned and shot has brought to the limelight the general difficulties faced by the migrants.

“I was retained for two months. I tried to escape but was wounded by a bullet. Two months later I gave birth and after three months I was released after paying 15, 000 dollars,” a victim identified as Selam told AFP.

Most Eritrean migrants are fleeing prolonged voluntary service in the army and economic hardship.

“There are various risks, if I may say. Safety is one of them. Remember some of those migrants make those journeys through smugglers and you know smuggling can turn into trafficking and those two concepts somehow they are not well clarified,” Mohamed Adar, who heads the UNHCR mission in Sudan told reporters.

According to UN statistics, close to 30.000 Eritreans have migrated to Italy passing through North Africa since 2015. Sudan is usually used as transit.